So I finally listened to this song a couple of days ago, and despite the really generic AKB48 tune, I loved the lyrics so much that I sat down to do a rough translation of it. Google didn’t pull up any existing English translations, so the work is all mine. This is my first translation ever, but I think it’s pretty accurate.

Essentially, the only fangirling that I’ve done in the last 2 months has been over AKB (well, and a little SKE). I’m not into NMB or SDN (yet), even if I do like members from SDN like ex-AKB members Yukarin (Sato Yukari) and Nonti (Noro Kayo). Hopefully my wota-ness will not get to the point where I can name HKT members next year.

This post is a “awesome girl” post no. 1, in which I detail why you should like individual members. However, in the interests of time (and energy), I will only cover about 4 girls at a time. Hopefully this will be done in 15 (or less) posts. With maybe a couple of miscellaneous posts covering the kenkyuusei, SKE and SDN members whom I like as well. I will try to make each member entry as detailed as possible, and this will be in order of er.. well… honestly, whomever is easiest to write about at that point in time. To be fair, I will also try not go on and on about my oshimen and top 10, because I figure I’ve already said A LOT about them. Well, at least of my oshimen and no. 2. So I will limit my “AKB awesome girl profile” to 2-3 paragraphs per girl. I’m also including a paragraph or so about member relations, because a lot of them are defined by their roles in the group. That said, I’m not going back to individual AKBINGO and SHUKAN and/or making of episodes to reference what I say, so take it with a pinch of salt. It IS something that I started while waiting for my laundry to finish tumbling in the dryer, after all.

orz I thought “there’s no way that I could ever change oshimen”, but within 2 weeks I’ve come to realise that though I love Mayuyu and think she’s adorable and incredible, there’s no doubt that the person whom I support and want to succeed the most is Saechan.

It seems a travesty that despite the amount of fapping I’ve done on twitter, I haven’t actually put a post up about AKB48. I used to mock them and their fans; now I’m a fanatic. ORZ

Worse still, I have infected innocent civilians with this zombie-like fever. It can’t be helped though. I really, truly, honestly like most of the girls. Their variety programs (and various videos) are simply too entertaining and hilarious to dislike. Their singing is (on the whole) uneven – some girls can really sing, and some (like my oshimen) sound like the usual Japanese anime characters on helium. But I can ignore that. It’s amazing what can be ignored when there is cute and lulz to be had.

It’s so, SO, SO much squee. I’ve never been gladder for Japanese classes. I might post my half-baked “translation” of the conversations (especially the parts between Seriho and Sarasa-chan) later, as a White Day present for other Yurifans.

I think I can see where the title came from, it seems to be modeled after that 1998 Italian movie, where the hero dies and the heroine/surviving kid is the one who records the “wonderful” past that was, and the sacrifices that were made that “made life wonderful”.

I’ve started playing this game, and I’ll be honest – I’ve wanted to play this for a long while, but didn’t get around to it till recently. That’s because I was all stressed out at work, so I completely stopped watching anime because I didn’t want the stress of the deadline of “keeping up” with new anime. So far, Tomoyo After is loads of H-scenes which – I have to admit, I cannot protest. Ever since I saw CLANNAD and CLANNAD After Story, I’ve been a huge fan of Tomoyo (she’s my favourite CLANNAD girl, and mai waifu no. 5).

However, in typical Key fashion, it’s hilarious, sexy and – did I mention hilarious? Tomoyo’s best points and cutest characteristics are elevated to the max. But also in typical Key fashion, I already know that this VN has a crap sob-story ending that will probably make me cry. That was also another reason why I didn’t want to start it till recently. Despite all that, what I’ve seen up to this point is wonderful, and I’m enjoying it very much despite the fact that Tomoyo’s seiyuu is not my much-fawned-after Houko Kuwashima. Her Tomoyo voice in CLANNAD quite literally gave me shivers.

Oh well.

The soundtrack’s and the promo-movie are also great, I love them.

I’ll be starting on Planetarium after this, and probably Little Busters! Ex after that. Little Busters! is a bit scary just with the sheer number of girls’ routes that I’ll have to make my way through. Then the huge task that is Eden*, if I haven’t gone off this VN binge by then.

OK, so I wrote this in word, but I realised that I wouldn’t be able to completely remove all traces of my identity if I uploaded in word. That’s why I’m posting it here. (P.S. I DID IT FOR THE LULZ.)

Notes and disclaimers: Yes, fiction. Yes, Haruka and Minako are not really yuriyuri for each other. Yes, I stayed up all night writing this because… I had inspiration. I totally own Haruka and Minako and make them make out for my own pleasure everyday… NOT.

I really haven’t had much time to watch anime lately – it’s a combination of a few factors, including work, my parents visiting/attending my brother’s graduation, and social stuff.

I’ve been reading the Chinese translation of Murakami’s latest novel, 1Q84. It’s very Murakami, and for (what I believe is) the first time ever, he’s writing a female MC. I’m about 8 chapters in, and it’s proving a great read – despite the fact that I can’t read as fast or as easily for books in traditional Chinese, much less one translated in such a metaphorical and almost literary manner. Not that I don’t appreciate it; it’s bringing back my Chinese education.

My parents are landing in Melbourne in a few hours, and I’ve been cleaning and hiding my Otaku stuff. I don’t believe that being an otaku is anything to be ashamed about. However, my parents are like Kirino’s, and consider such things a waste of time and money. Which they probably are, it’s just that they’re highly enjoyable. Things that I’ve hidden include:

– Over 30 figures

– My Hina glass

– 3 Entrails animals soft toys

– A Pandaneko apron

– 2 Kampfer bracelets

– 1 Judgement armband

– 2 anime (WAIFU) amulets

– 1 Guitar

I considered hiding my new bass, but decided that even if I could, I would not be able to hide the amp. My life is amazing. I can’t hide all my books and dvds (anime/manga/comics or not) so I just gave up with that. I figure that they wouldn’t notice anything out of the ordinary because I’ve just got SO MANY of them.

I’ve only got episode 6 of Stardriver, Shinrei Tantei Yakumo and Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge to catch up on, so I decided to write down a few mid-season thoughts (Including shows that will end this season but started last season).

The Good:

Bakuman – They’ve cut out long monologue sections from the manga (which I’m reading and love completely), and added a few things to make the side characters seem more interesting. I approve. The OP “Bluebird” is great, still waiting on it to be released in full.

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo – The writing and tension is good. It’s supernatural, but also almost a detective show. MC voiced by Ono Daisuke is awesome and multi-layered.

Shiki – Wracks up the tension and horror with every single episode. The questions about morality and self-preservation are addressed in depth. The characters are people whom we can empathise with. The show is creepy, horrific and disturbing, reminding me initially of Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni. However, it’s distinctly different in that we can understand the characters’ motivations and obsessions.

The Better than expected:

Stardriver – Initially expected a mecha SRSBSNS battle-series with a few love stories and touching relationships thrown in. Hated the first episode, but came to just treat it as a spoof of everything in that genre. It’s now hilarious and silly.

Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls – Exactly the same as above. Aki-chan, Mina-chan and Kugyu all sound like they have lots of fun voicing their very extreme characters.

Fortune Arterial – Started watching for eroge-adapted bishoujos. The harem-plot is pretty standard in every way, but the MC is not a loser, and although unoriginal, what’s done is done well. Lia’s OP and Veil’s ED are pretty good too.

Shinryaku! Ika Musume – Could not imagine myself watching a series about a squid girl, but Ika Musume is charming and lovely. Her silliness isn’t annoying, and the dynamic with Chizuru/Eiko/Takeru is sometimes touching, sometimes funny. Episode 5 had a very cute sequence involving Eiko and Ika Musume that was really sweet. I’m still waiting on the ED by Ito Kanae.

Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt – I thought initially that it wasn’t my thing, but I guess as I grew desensitized to the coarse humour and bodily function-based plots, I started to just go with the flow and found it amusing. The OP and ED rock, as does the Panty/Stocking transformation sequence.

Otome Youkai Zakuro – Unexpectedly sweet, also with unexpected character depth. The dynamics of the soldiers with the half-spirits help both to grow. Plus, the OP, Moon Signal, is by SPHERE, so I never skip it.

So-so:

MM! – I expected a series about a guy getting off on being tortured, and that’s exactly what I got. It’s not really memorable, some of the gags are lame, and it’s the typical brainless unemotionally-involving stuff that I can go through very fast.

Ore no Imouto – The Otaku-based siscon/brocon relationship is the basis of this show, and while I relate to some degree to Kirino, I can’t empathise with the way that she treats her brother. As with MM!, Ayanyan voices a tsundere and carries it off. Kuroneko is priceless and her Kuudere nature makes her my favourite. Unfortunately because of the nature of the fanservice, which often turns me off, I’m ambivalent and not really a fan. The OP, “Irony” by ClariS, is really addictive. It’s horrifying that they are just a couple of middle-school girls, they completely don’t sound it.

Amagami SS – I’ll admit that I’m most excited about the Ayatsuji arc, which comes last. I found Sae’s arc boring, loved Nanasaki (Yukana’s voice is incredibly kuudere-moe) and now we’re in the middle of Rihoko’s arc, which again I’m not too interested in.

The World God only Knows – Harem with a deconstruction of the galge-tropes. Keima is funny but not awesome. Ito Kanae voices Elcea, a new type of voice for her. It’s like a Boke and Tsukkomi routine, which works, but not consistently. The Engrish by ELISA in the OP is very distracting and annoying.

To Aru Majutsu no Index 2 – I was bored by Index 1, and am almost getting to that point with Index 2. The church-wars aren’t all that interesting, and I’m only watching for Biribiri and Kuroko, who haven’t played a part in the series yet. Luckily, the preview for the next arc suggests that they will soon. OP by Kawada Mami sounds exactly like the usual that she’s been doing for Shana and Index.

Below expectations:

Yosuga no Sora – Harem, incest, and I had harem/bishoujo expectations. The girls are pretty, that’s what I’m watching it for, but the characters and plot are very weak. I don’t care about any of them. The ecchi/porn and R-rated jokes which come after the episodes aren’t well-done. OP by eufonius is terrible, to be honest. It sounds like several songs, with no coherent melody.

Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge – Getting bored with the continual everyone-as-boke Riku-as-tsukkomi routine. There’s almost nothing fresh every episode, and the characters don’t make any progress as running gags are taken as plot.

Dropped:

Togainu no Chi – Didn’t realise that this is BL, and after watching… well, I’m still not into BL. The characters are stereotypes, the premise is ridiculous and the plot is weak.

Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru – I guess I could say that I dropped it because of Omigawd, but that’s not true. There isn’t much of a plot, the characters aren’t attractive or funny, and this isn’t even proper slice-of-life because there’s no observational humour. Just FAIL!comedy I guess. OP by Sakamoto Maaya rocks though.